Friday, February 6, 2015

Stars: 3 out of 5Back of the BookWhen you're in your late twenties and nothing in your life seems to be falling into place, knitting is an awfully seductive way to spend your free time. After all, as long as you're following the instructions, you can knit row after row with the knowledge that the pattern will emerge and you'll end up with just what you wanted. Life, on the other hand, doesn't come with a stitch counter, so Kathleen, Sari, and Lucy, the heroines of KNITTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, just have to figure things out as they go along. Their weekly Sunday knitting circle is the only thing holding them together as Kathleen is cut off financially by her family and forced to enter `the real world' for the very first time at the age of twenty-seven, Sari finds herself falling for the man who made her life a living hell in high school but who now desperately needs her help, and Lucy finds herself torn between emotion and reason when her lab and her boyfriend are assailed by an animal-rights group.At their club meetings, they discuss the really important questions: how bad is it, really, to marry for money if you like the guy a lot anyway? Can you ever forgive someone for something truly atrocious that they've done? Is it better to be unhappily coupled than happily alone? And the little ones: Can you wear a bra with a hand-knit tube top? Is it ever acceptable to knit something for a boyfriend? And why do your stitches become lopsided after your second martini?In Claire LaZebnik's hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking novel, Sari, Lucy, and Kathleen's lives intersect, overlap, unravel, and come back together-the result is an utterly satisfying read.My ReviewIt follows the lives of three women who are in their late twenties. The one thing that stays constant and happens every week is their knitting circle. Its predictable and I didn't know if I would finish it, but I did. Congratz to me.But back to the book. Sari works with austistic children helping them to learn words and how to react to different situations. Her brother has autism so I assumed this is the reason for her career choice. She starts to help this kid named Zack whose father used to supposedly torture her autistic brother in high school. She hates him for that and uses that hate as a security blanket so she doesn't fall for him. He's pretty persistent and by the end of the book they fall in love. Lucy works as a lab researcher her bf at the time James is a total douchebag and thinks he's always right. Her partner David has always have the hots for her (I know you can see where this is going) and after he buys her a kitten they start to get closer. She dumps her bf for David. And to imagine that story line took roughly 150 pages. Lastly my fav story line was Kathleen. She is a triplet but unlike the twins she looks nothing like them. There famous for being twins and she feels no existent. So she moves out after a fight and discovers herself. She meets Sam who helps her with a place to stay and a job. Kathleen thinks that if you lands the bosses son Kevin who is rich all her problems will be solved. She dates him, becomes engaged and realizes the night before that she doesn't really love him and is actually bored of him. She develops feelings for Sam (I love their sarcastic relationship) at the end they get together knowing that its a huge risk but maybe the risk is worth it.